Rifts of the Spark
by Aquaformer
Summary: I don't Own transformers. Optimus is a jerk to his new sparkmate, so his sparkmate takes off. Warning: This contains slash, mpreg, sexual themes. Rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, They are owned by Hasbro. I am merely having fun. Optimus is being a bit of a prick to his mate and his mate runs off. This contains slash and mpreg. No like, no read. No Harsh comments or flames. Constructive criticism welcome. Enjoy!

It had been an exceptionally terrible day for poor Mirage. His aft of a mate had left him hung out to dry and had thrown him in the brig for something that wasn't his fault. Well, not entirely, as Mirage wasn't in full control of his systems right now. He had just learned he was sparked with twins and he was scared. Nothing helped calm him down or make him feel like he was still in full control of his systems. Trying to talk to his adoptive mother Jazz had been a complete bust as Prowl, also angry at the illusionist, had kicked the bot out of the room before Mirage cold talk to Jazz, though Jazz had no idea.

And so resigned to the perception that no one wanted him around anymore, Mirage fled the base. He knew he was vulnerable but that didn't matter any more. It seemed to him that no one cared of he was around much less online. And so with a heavy spark and tears in his optics, Mirage packed the few things he treasured into a subspace and left quietly and under the cover of his illusions. Red Alert didn't even catch the bot sneaking out.

Meanwhile, in the medical bay. Ratchet had been concerned about Mirage and rightly so. Mirage had just bonded to Optimus and was extremely sensitive about things since Mirage had just become an adult a few days ago. In fact, Mirage had tried to comm his mate about what had been discovered during this exam only to be told not to bug the leader. Ratchet could even hear the annoyed tone in Optimus' voice over the comm. Ratchet tried reassuring Mirage, but it had little effect. Mirage merely left, helm hung down, optics facing the floor.

Ratchet had tried to comm Mirage to make sure that he had gotten home safely, but Mirage didn't answer any comms. And now that Ratchet was unable to reach Mirage at all, Ratchet decided it was time to go figure out what was up with Optimus. Ratchet left First aid in charge of the med bay before heading to the Prime's office. Ratchet had his trusty throwing wrenches with him, as one bonded bot hurting his or her mate was one thing that made Ratchet's energon blood boil and rightly so. Mates were connected in every sense of the word, and when suffered, the other usually did as well.

Optimus was sitting alone in his office, stacks upon stacks of reports littered his desk to the point only the top of Optimus' helm could be seen over the stacks. Many of the reports were conspiracy theory mumbo-jumbo from the paranoid security director, but Optimus still had to read them. And if it wasn't one of those, the reports spoke of con movements which were a direct threat to the Autobots and the humans that they had befriended when the Transformers woke up on the strange organic planet called Earth, a planet light years from Cybertron, which had been a casualty to this insane civil war.

Ratchet didn't bother knocking and went straight in to the office. He and Optimus were old friends, and so Ratchet often got away with this. Optimus didn't look up but growled when he heard the door open, fearing more reports and such. Soon a flying wrench hit Optimus squarely on a sensitive antenna. Optimus rose out of his seat in pure anger and glared at the bot that dare do such a thing while swearing. Ratchet held another wrench in his hand just in case he needed to throw it as well.

"You fragging son of a glitch…" growled Optimus, obviously in need of a break but refusing to take one. He was angry about this interruption, as he had been when Mirage had tried to interrupt a meeting.

"Takes one to know one, Optimus" Ratchet said, not backing down. He knew how to read Optimus, and while Optimus was pissed, Ratchet was the level-headed one trying to get through to his thick helmed friend.

"And just what in the name of Primus do you mean by that, you rust bucket?" Optimus asked angrily.

"You heard me, you pompous jerk" Ratchet retorted. Optimus ran over and tried to pin Ratchet to the wall for daring to defy him. Ratchet dodged and Optimus ended up sprawled on the floor. Ratchet pinned the leader there. "Well, this explains a lot…" Ratchet said an eerily calm tone.

Optimus tried to turn over but found he was pinned down under Ratchet's foot. "What the hell are you talking about" Optimus asked angrily.

"I saw Mirage this morning…" Ratchet began.

"So? What does that have to do with you interrupting me?"

"I can't find him or get a hold of him now. He had turned off all forms of communication. Seems a certain bot has been nothing but angry and cruel toward him…" Ratchet said, seeing if Optimus would hang himself with the rope offered.

"Frag it all, what the hell does Mirage have to do with anything?" Optimus snarled. This was worse than Ratchet thought. "Besides, him comming me in the middle of a session planning an attack on the Cons which is completely and utterly inappropriate."

"Did it ever occur to you that Mirage may have had something important to say? That he wanted to talk to his sparkmate and not just the leader of the Autobots?" Optimus growled again. His tanks were running on empty as he hadn't refueled after he had Mirage had faced the night before. "Open your spark bond you arrogant aft."

Optimus timidly did so and was soon overwhelmed with intense pain and excruciating hurt. It hurt so severely, as if a feeling of being rejected came through, that and worry and fear. Optimus was confused by what he was feeling over the bond.

"What's wrong, old friend?" ratchet asked, sensing a change.

"I…I feel fear, worry…and being rejected…" Optimus said, scaring Ratchet.

"Optimus, I know you may have not discussed this yet, but Mirage is sparked…"

"Sp…SPARKED?" Optimus asked. Optimus now felt even worse. Sparked bots were rare. Not every bot was strong enough to carry sparklings to term and now Mirage was scared and vulnerable, which was not a good combination. "We..we never discussed having a family due to the war. Is he really sparked?"

"Yes, it was why he commed you in the middle of your oh-so-important planning session. I had asked him to, as his systems are extremely sensitive and are not always going to be under control as he gets bigger. It is also possible that if he gets over stressed, he could lose them…"

"No…" OPtimus whispered, about ready to cry.

"Do you have any idea where he might go?"

"Well, I know he is pretty close to jazz.."

"Optimus, that is because Jazz is Mirage's adoptive mother…" Ratchet said much to Optimus' shock. Ratchet commed Jazz, but Jazz said he hadn't seen Mirage since yesterday. Ratchet then commed Prowl, Jazz's mate who had become Mirage's adoptive father but didn't necessarily like Mirage or that Mirage had bonded to the leader. Prowl told how he had kicked Mirage out of their quarters and had no idea where the bot had gone. Ratchet was pissed and laid into Prowl with Optimus listening. Prowl felt bad once Ratchet had read Prowl the riot act.

It was only once Optimus settled down that Ratchet dare let the leader up. "I don't envy your position, because remember this, if he dies, you will as well…" Ratchet left with that.

Optimus realized the damage he had done, and tried to pulse love through the bond, but got almost no response. It was only then Optimus realized he had to find Mirage before they both ran out of time. The question was….where would mirage go and would he be found in time?


	2. Chapter 2

(See disclaimer from Ch. 1)

Mirage had run a long ways from the base on earth. He had brought some energon with him, but doubted it would be enough to last more than a few days especially since he was carrying. He would have to ration the energon carefully and stay out of view so that the cons didn't find him either. Mirage soon found an abandoned dark cave where he could stay safely for a while at least. He went as far as he could into it and then transformed back into his robot form. The pain in his spark was overwhelming and he hoped that the further he got away the better it would get. So far, t wasn[t working that way.

Meanwhile, back at the base, Jazz, worried about Mirage, approached his mate Prowl. Prowl could be an aft and a glitch but Jazz did love him. "Love, have you see Mirage recently? Optimus has put out an order that we are to look for him" Jazz asked. Prowl swallowed hard. He didn't want to tell what he had done. Jazz sensed this. "Prowl…what have you done?"

"Nothing. He's just an overly sensitive little brat…" Prowl said, infuriating jazz.

Jazz smacked Prowl upside the helm. "how dare you. He looks up to us, especially you. He adores both of us and you have the gall to go and break him" Jazz said incensed.

"You care more about him than you do about us or even Wingspan.." Prowl said. Oh that was a bad move bringing the young seekerling into this.

"You leave Wingspan out of this. I sparked him because I believe all bots have the right to life, whether they are sparked form a rape or otherwise" Growled Jazz, livid at his arrogant mate. Prowl merely glared at his mate. "Get out! I don't want you in my room now."

"These are OUR quarters."

"I don't' care, until you learn to love Mirage as our son, you don't deserve to stay here. GO stay in the rec room or Jack's lab. Frankly I don't care where, just LEAVE!" Jazz said, literally throwing Prowl out on his aft and locking the door behind the bot. Thankfully, Wingspan had been with Hound and hadn't seen the argument.

Meanwhile, Optimus was back in his empty quarters. They felt even emptier since Mirage had left and took his few treasures with him, or so Optimus presumed. There was no trace that Mirage had ever even set foot in the quarters and that was disconcerting for Optimus. He was only now starting to realize the depth of what he had done. He had let his stress and job come before his new family. Optimus knew Mirage had just turned into an adult, but didn't realize the bot was this sensitive.

Optimus looked and everywhere he looked he saw something missing – something that Mirage had brought into their shared quarters the night before. Optimus tried to think of the night before to see if it would offer any clues.

(Flashback)

Mirage was nervous as Optimus carried him bride style to the quarters that they would now share – the Prime quarters. Mirage blushed as Optimus held him close. Mirage wasn't exactly sure what to expect as he had only been an adult for a few days and already he had found the bot he was meant to spend the rest of his life with.

Optimus, for his part, smiled as the thought of having someone love him after losing Elita all those years ago made his spark swell. He was gentle with the illusionist as they walked into the quarters.

"Wow…these are huge…" Mirage said softly in shock.

"A prime is often the biggest bot, so they are given one of the biggest and safest chambers deep in the base" Optimus said, smiling as he watched Mirage take all this in. Mirage began placing the few treasured mementos in key places where he could always see them. It was only once those things were placed, mirage returned to Optimus. Optimus scooped the bot up and carried him to the berth with Mirage laughing as he dangled over Optimus' right shoulder.

They soon reached the berth room. The berth was the biggest berth Mirage had ever seen and he barely covered one third of it as Optimus placed the illusionist onto the berth gently. Mirage looked up innocently. He was so much younger than the Prime, it was obvious at least to the Prime. Mirage's optics held hope, love, and possibility.

Mirage laid back on his back and spread his legs wide, though his plating remained shut. He was shy about also eager to become the Prime's mate. Mirage held a secret that he had only told the medic – he was a rare bot who could carry sparklings. He hadn't mentioned it because he feared with the war, Optimus wouldn't want any. Besides, the pleasure felt so good, any other thought started melting away.

Optimus's large hands were gentle and caring as they rubbed over various areas on Mirage. Optimus was by no means virgin metal in terms of taking bots, but Mirage was completely virgn metal. Optimus knew to take gentle care in warming Mirage up.

"ooo…'Mirage mewled as different areas were expertly rubbed and plucked by loving and experienced hands. Soft breathy moans soon were leaving Mirage's mouth as Optimus pleasure his mate.

It didn't take long for Mirage to open his groin plating, revealing partially stiff spike and a dripping valve. Optimus saw and knew he had more work. He wanted Mirage dripping even more before Optimus spiked the bot. Optimus knew he had a good-sized spike and didn't want to hurt Mirage.

Mirage, as he was being pleasure, tried to return the favor and ended up finding several small hotspots that sent Optimus to places he had never been. Optimus moaned as well, enjoying this.

Once Mirage was considered wet enough, Optimus carefully thrusted his spike in. Mirage felt like he was being split in two, but it felt good. Optimus, once fully sheathed, stood still to allow Mirage to adjust. Mirage adjusted much slower than most bots as he hadn't been an adult for long. Still, Optimus was patient and waited until Mirage was ready before Optimus thrusted deeply in and out of the pert and dripping valve.

"Ugh…nnn….oh….oh" Mirage softly mewled as the spike hit previously unknown pleasure zones deep inside of his valve. This felt so right. And in feeling right, Mirage unashamedly released his bright blue spark first. It hung in the air, waiting for Optimus' spark to join it. Optimus quickly followed suit, as he knew sparks didn't like to be left hanging for long. Their sparks met overhead, bonding the two, sending pure pleasure through both, connecting them deeply, and sparking Mirage. Optimus, unaware that Mirage could spark, thought little of the intense bonding merge, as he was just happy to have a sparkmate. Their sparks soon returned to each respective bot.

After cooling down from the overloading and bonding high, they cuddled for a bit before falling into a pleasant recharge, with Optimus wrapping a protective arm around Mirage's waist as Mirage snuggled close to the warmth of his new found mate.

(end flashback)

Now, less than twenty-four earth hours after they had bonded and agreed to be mates for life, Optimus had already showed his nasty jerk side and Mirage was missing in action and could be anywhere in the universe. Optimus could kick himself for what he had done. Optimus tried to pulse his mate, but a response seemed weak and distant. That scared Optimus, as Ratchet had mentioned that sparks, even bonded, get weaker and feel more distant when they feel rejected. Optimus swore, he had royally screwed this up. If he ever found Mirage, he promised that he would do everything in his power to make sure Mirage wanted for nothing.

Meanwhile, Mirage was still deeply buried in the cave that he had found. The cave's natural configuration limited communications. Almost no one would have been able to reach Mirage in here, nor could he call out for help. He just slept, tears still in his optics, figuring no one even cared that he was gone. He absentmindedly rubbed his still flat abdomen. He knew the sparks were there, he could feel both of them. They were strong. For now, that was the only good thing that Mirage could see. He hoped that he was wrong, and that his mate cared enough to come and find him, but he wasn't sure if that would happen, since it now seemed like Optimus had no time for Mirage.


	3. Chapter 3

(Same disclaimer as before. For those of you who are looking at some of my other stories that are older, I will try to update as I get a chance. Forgive me for having been gone so long)

Ratchet was pacing purposeflly around the med bed as he took care of things. First Aid had done a decent job, but Ratchet was picky. He was also trying to figure out how he could help find Mirage, as Mirage was out there, alone and sparked. Ratchet was also still miffed about how stupid and ignorant his friend the Prime had been. Ratchet had let Optimus have it as Ratchet felt it was his duty, as a medic and a friend.

The other thing was that Ratchet knew that sparked bots were extremely vulnerable and many lost their first sparkling or sparklings even with the best of care. Mirage wasn't getting care right now and that scared the medic. Those twins that Mirage carried could also kill Mirage and the Prime if Mirage wasn't careful. Ratchet tried to focus his mind elsewhere, as Mirage and the twins lives probably depended on it. They needed to be found.

Elsewhere, Ironhide found Prowl in the re room, trying to catch a nap on the filthy couch in a dark corner. Ironhide could only wonder what Prowl had done this time to get thrown out of the room yet again. Ironhide carefully approached. "whatcha do this time, Prowl?" Hide asked.

"Pissed off Jazz by throwing out Mirage and then bringing up about Wingspan"

"Ouch. You're in double trouble.' Hide said, stating the obvious to which Prowl nodded groggily.

"You're telling me, especially since mirage is M.I.A."

"wait…WHAT? I thought he 'n' Optimus bonded last night."

"They did but…"

"But what..?"

"None of your business Hide" Optimus said in a huff, having heard the conversation. He was already feeling bad enough, he didn't need his soldiers creating rumors about how poor of a sparkmate he was being behind his back. They would have been mostly true, but that was besides the point. Optimus glared at the two.

"Prime, I know that look. Ya can't stop an old friend from inquirin'. Besides, you aint the only one around here with a mate" Hide said. He was right, Jazz and Prowl along with Hide and Chromia as well as Inferno and Red Alert. "Maybe ya should talk to a pair who know what it takes to be in a bond, since it clearly obvious ya don't know.

Optimus sighed, but he was still angry and had his pride. "Leave me alone. Unless any of you want time in the brig, I suggest you say no more about Mirage and I. If I find out you have, I wont hesitate to punish." Optimus stormed out at that. He didn't want to be reminded that he had failed.

He went back to his room. He was ready to punch a hole in the wall because this hurt, Primus it hurt. Prime had a lot of wisdom and he wasn't dumb, as he was highly intelligent but he had failed to learn how to read such a sweet and innocent bot like Mirage, who was much more complicated than anyone gave the bot credit for.

Optimus commed Jazz in hopes that Jazz could shed some light on Mirage. Jazz soon came.

"You called Prime" Jazz said, with Wingspan in tow.

"Yes….some things have happened as of late….and I need information."

"Like what?" Wingspan asked defiantly, butting in, even he had heard of what had happened and wasn't happy his brother was hurt.

"Spanner, behave. You will not disrespect the Prime like that. I understand you are angry because he hurt a bot you see as a brother, but you can't just go spouting off at the Prime" Jazz said, correcting Wingspan who apologized but still wasn't very friendly at the moment, partially from seeker programming designed to protect bots that seekers loved.

Prime let it go. "I…I need to know more about Mirage…"

Jazz shot a look up at the Prime. "You seek me for answers you should find yourself?" Jazz asked.

"He's hidden all his history from me."

"can't say I blame him…" Jazz said bluntly.

"Let me tell you a few things about him. He hates war – he lost his parents and his twin brother Illusion to fire – Autobot and Decepticon fire as they were in the crosshairs of a battle. He survived by hiding under his dead twin's body and using an illusion. He was sparked a tower bot, loved and wanted but the war destroyed everything he knew and thought he knew. He was a broken sparkling when I found him alone in the Cybertronian desert. I raised him, first by myself with Wingspan, and then with Prowl when Prowl came along. Thing is, Prowl, who is another tower bot, couldn't stand Mirage but only did so because he loved Wingspan and I. Mirage is gentle and innocent but he is also smart, wise, and perceptive. It doesn't take much to upset him, especially if you are close to him. It also appears that now, he is a rare mech that can carry sparklings. Those type of bots are extremely hard to find as most end up as breeders or dead."

Optimus was shocked into silence. He didn't realize Mirage hid such a broken past. Mirage seemed to be such a naïve bot. He wasn't as naïve as he portrayed himself to be. Optimus then sighed. "Where can I find him? How can I find him as he won't respond to the bond pulses? What can I do to show him that I am better than that? That he means the world to me? That I will love each and every precious sparkling he gives us?"

"I can't answer those questions for you, sir. Only you can find those answers, now if you'll excuse me, my son is missing" jazz said and he then left with Wingspan, who shot one last dirty look at the Prime. Optimus hadn't wanted to hear that, but that was what he needed to hear. He prayed to primus to keep Mirage safe.

In his cave, Mirage slept, conserving his energon. It wasn't good for him, as to much inactivity was bad for the developing sparklings. He felt them move stimulating him to move a bit. He kept his movements minimal. He had no idea that this whole escapade was going to darn near kill him before he saw his sparkmate again, thanks to help from the cons.


	4. Chapter 4

(See previous Disclaimer from first chaper)

That night, Mirage did not return and Optimus was left to sleep in the large bed alone. It looked dark and foreboding rather than comforting like it usually did. It seemed everyone and everything knew of Optimus' misdeed against his spark mate. Optimus slowly crawled into the berth, now wishing his mate was there. Optimus had a lot on his processor to think about. Nearly everyone of his officers had given the Prime an earful about what had happened. Prowl, Jazz, Hide, ratchet, and even Wingspan, not to name others. Optimus didn't realize till now just how fragile some bots are and how fragile sparkbonds are. It was scaring him to think that if he didn't find his mate, he could often line as well.

Meanwhile, In the dark cave, mirage shivered, his think metal exterior not keeping him warm enough. He longed to be in bed and to snuggle up with Optimus, but that was a pipe dream, as Optimus had seemed to have made it clear, Mirage wasn't welcome, and by default, neither were the sparklings. Mirage was already starting ot have malfunctions in his systems from viral codes and not getting enough energon, but fearing that going back would be more deadly than running, Mirage stayed put.

Hot Rod was on the night shift monitor. He had heard about the incident through the grape vine. He missed Mirage too, as Mirage was a good friend to him. Hot Rod didn't know for sure what happened, but he wished he could find mirage. The thing was, when Mirage didn't want to be found, he couldn't be found. Hot Rod could only hope time would bring sense into Mirage, Optimus or both. But for now, he stood his post, watching to see if Mirage showed up.

The medic couldn't sleep, worried too much about the young family being exposed to the elements of this unusual organic planet. Cold, hot, wet, dry – it shifted constantly and could cause one type of rust if bots weren't careful. He eventually went into a restless recharge.

The next day, Mirage was still gone and word had spread far and wide in the base about what had happened and that Mirage was missing. No one else was told about the sparklings per se, but it seemed unusual that an upset bot wouldn't come back after a few hours. The only problem with the entire base knowing that Mirage was off somewhere upset was that word somehow drifted to the bottom of the see where the Decepticons were hidden.

Megatron received the interesting tid bit from Lazerbeak, who had overheard a couple of Autobots talking about what had happened and how Mirage was missing in action. Megatron merely smirked. "So that slagging fool of a leader has chased off his mate who can become invisible. Hmmm….this tilts things in my favor I believe" Megatron speaking his thoughts aloud though alone. Megatron commed Soundwave, who promptly arrived. "Soundwave, I need you to release ravage. I have a slagging lost Autobot that if I find him, I can bring the Autobots to their knees."

"Answer: at your command" Soundwave said in his typical monotonous digitalized speech pattern. "Ravage, eject." Ravage came out of Soundwave's tapedeck and was given her instructions to find this wayward Autobot for Megatron. Ravage purred and growled fiercely. She had just woken from a cat nap and was ready to go. Meagtron watched as Ravage and Lazerbeak left. He hoped that he would find Mirage before those fragging goody two-shoes Autobots did.

'Remember, I want that fool alive" Megatron said and wave passed the information onto the cassettes he had sent out. They ackanowledged.

Meanwhile, sensing the cavern was no longer a safe haven, Mirage left, Illusions on full blast as he never knew when he would run into one of those rogue neutrals or a Decepticon. He pushes ever onward, moving further away from the base. He could feel his mate on the other end, but after having one extremely terrifying experience with Optimus' explosive anger, Mirage was reluctant to try the bond that they shared. And he barely responded to it when he got a message, as he wanted his spark mate to know that he was still alive….for now, but no one could say how much longer that would be, as trouble lay just around the bend.


	5. Chapter 5

(See previous for disclaimer)

Lazerbeak was flying high over the desert area, keeping in close communication with Ravage. They had picked up a faint energon trail that was heading this way. Ravage was the one eho noticed that this trace was unusually strong. She didn't know why, but sensed that there was more to this lost Autobot than met the optic. Both commed Soundwave to lert him know of their progress. And it was Soundwave who relayed the message to Megatron.

"Excellent. Now see that they don't fail me!" Megatron responded to Soundwave.

"Statement: Failure not an option" Soundwave said and he relayed that message to the caseetes who acknowledged in their own ways. They would not fail.

Meanwhile, at the Autobot base, Teletran blasted a warning, as it sensed Cons were on the move. Ironhide was at the monitor when it blared. He commed Optimus. "Prime, we got trouble."

Optimus came racing down to the area. He was still hurting and could tell that some of his men were still not happy with how he had treated Mirage. "What's the latest?"

"Lazerbeak and Ravage have been wandering around in the desert"

"Why would they…" Optimus started to ask when he realized what the target was. "OH slag!"

"What's wrong, Prime?"

"They must be after….Mirage…Megatron must want Mirage" Optimus said, hurt coming through as well as anger towards the cons.

Ironhide wanted to say, 'well at least someone does" but he refrained. "What makes you think that, Prime?"

"Because something in my spark tells me that Mirage is running through there…" Optimus said, his spark still heavy and tired from not having a decent recharge. "We have to play this carefully, because if Megatron finds Mirage and realizes that Mirage is not only alone but sparked, things will be extremely bad for Mirage."

"And if Old Megs knows that you are bonded ta Mirage, things are even more grave" Hide said, reminding Optimus of what Ratchet had said just after Mirage had run off. Optimus grimaced before he swore again. He really had been an aft to his mate, driving his mate right into the hands of the Cons. Right now he would do anything just to bring Mirage back to the safety of his arms. But then Optimus wondered if Mirage thought they were safe anymore after this. Optimus was resolved about one thing – when he found Mirage he would do whatever it took to re-earn the trust that Mirage had for him back. Prime then ordered the Autobots to roll out and head to the desert.

Problem for the Autobots was that it was too late. Mirage may have been invisible and with his shields up, but ravage had somehow sensed the bot was close by and Mirage was too upset to keep his guard up for long. Ravage easily tackled Mirage from behind, knocking the bot out cold with minimal damage. Ravage immediately commed Soundwave as she dragged off her "catch" to a secret spot that Soundwave would be able to find quickly.

He rushed there and after retrieving his two cassettes, he easily scooped up the knocked-out Mirage and headed back for the Decepticon base at the bottom of the sea. Megatron smiled when he saw that they had indeed captured the bot and the mission had truly been successful for once. They threw him in the brig, though did so carefully after Soundwave revealed that Mirage was with sparklings. Megatron smirked at that as that opened even more possibilities – the only question being should Megatron allow these sparklings to be sparked or rip them out and force his own sparklings upon Mirage.

Meanwhile, the Autobots arrived in the desert area after the cons had left and had captured Mirage. Ironhide found the tracks of Soundwave and Ravage in the cave along with an treasured item of Mirage that had fallen out in the process of Mirage being dragged to the cave. This was extremely dire, as it meant the Cons had found Mirage before the Autobots. Optimus now was even more worried; as not only was Megatron holding Mirage most likely deep under the sea, but Soundwave was a telepath and would be able to quickly figure out Mirage was with sparklings. This truly meant war! Optimus was not going to leave his precious mate in the hands of his enemies.

_Hold on, Mirage, please, hold on. I will find you. Please lead me to you, as I miss you_ Optimus thought as he pulsed love to his weakened mate. This was really putting pressure on the leader. How could he have been so stupid? He straightened up and called his men back. They had to plan how they were going to reach Mirage wherever he was and before Megatron did anything. Question was, would the Autobots reach him in time before Megatron harmed Mirage or the unsparked sparklings?


	6. Chapter 6

(See previously mentioned disclaimer)

Mirage woke later, in agony and confusion. He didn't recognize where he was or what was going on. He was low on energon and he felt sick. He figured he was hallucinating as it seemed like he was in a brig. His systems crashed, leaving him weak. Soundwave, who had been monitoring the precious prisoner ordered hook to bring energon drips, just enough to keep Mirage and the sparklings online for now.

Soundwave watched to make sure hook didn't do anything more at this point, as Soundwave knew Megatron had very specific plans for this captured bot. Besides, since a mech who could carry was rare, this bot was even more of a special catch. Wave watched over the bot carefully, letting Megtron know everything that happened. So far, Megatron was pleased and hoped that soon he would be able to at least interface with the bot.

Back at the Autobot base, Optimus was almost livid, though he tried not to show it, as he didn't want it to go through the bond and push Mirage further away. Mirage was in a precarious position, not only emotionally but also physically. Optimus went to talk to Prowl, Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide, unaware Spike had tagged along as well. Spike was one of the few who didn't know about why Mirage was missing. All spike knew was that the Cons had captured Mirage and Spike wanted to help.

"We must figure out how to find where the cons headquarters is without them realizing we are there. And once there we have to find a way in so that Mirage can be rescued with minimal stress on all parts" Optimus stated, not expecting the argument that was going to come out during the planning session.

"Sir, the only bot other than Mirage that could do something like that is Hound, as he is the only other one of us created with a way of creating illusions that others can believe are real" Hide said of his close friend, trying to be helpful.

"But he isn't as quick or as nimble as Mirage, so it would have to be very carefully staged if we did use him" Prowl said, and while it was the truth, it could have been put in another way. Jazz, still annoyed at his mate whacked Prowl upside the head to which Prowl moaned and then rubbed the sore spot. "Ow."

"This is as much your fault as it is his" Jazz said perturbed, confusing Spike. What did that mean?

"Why is this his fault?" Spike asked, shocking all as they hadn't expected him to be there during the meeting. "Why?" Spike asked, seeing that they were hesitant and reluctant to answer his question.

Ratchet sighed before speaking. "Spike, Prowl and Mirage had an argument after Prime and Mirage had an argument about the continuing robotic civil war" Ratchet stated, figuring that the real answer was too much to explain right now to the young human, and too complicated as well. Spike, understanding a bit as he knew of Prowl and Jazz's bond and what that meant, now glared at Prowl and Optimus, who was now getting sick of all the angry glares and stares that he was receiving from his own bots.

"Okay, Okay, I shouldn't have gotten angry with him, but he needs our help now, not our infighting" Optimus said, trying to refocus the conversation. Spike sensed there was more to the story, but dared not ask what was really going on. Reluctantly, the other bots returned to the planning part of the session, calling up certain other bots such as Smokescreen and Hound to help with the rescue of Mirage. They agreed to help and soon the plan was set in place. Huffer griped like usual about all of this, but no one paid him much heed, and he was left to guard the ark along with a few others, such as Wheeljack and the dinobots.

At the submerged Con base, Megatron anticipated that his time might be shorter than he really liked, and so before Mirage could be found or rescued by the cursed Autobots, Megatron forcibly took the bot several times in a row. Mirage felt dirty and disgusting afterwards, and, ironically, it was the same way he had felt after Optimus had told him off after they had bonded and faced the night before. Mirage began contemplating ending it all. The only thing that kept him going was the precious sparklings, but would that be enough to keep him going until he could be rescued. He cried himself to sleep, praying to Primus for relief from all this. Primus would answer the sparkfelt prayers, but not in the way Mirage expected nor in the time Mirage expected.


	7. Chapter 7

(See previously mentioned disclaimer)

No one knew it, but Optimus had felt all those times that Mirage had been defiled by the con leader. Mirage had unknowingly left his bond open during those times. But as much as Optimus was angry about it, he could also feel the hurt. And Optimus became even more worried when Mirage equated what he felt after those defiling to how he felt the morning after Mirage and Optimus had bonded. Optimus felt lower than dirt, but he wasn't going to stop searching for his mate.

Optimus tried to pulse love and ask for forgiveness over the bond, but he got little in return as Mirage was just too confused and in too much hurt to really respond the way Optimus hoped. Optimus was only now learning how deep of wounds he had created in his sparked mate by his one careless action. It was overwhelmingly deep and profound. Optimus pressed on, though, wanting to help heal the pain he had caused and hoping Mirage wouldn't end his own existence.

Meanwhile, at the con base, Mirage was curled up in a ball in the corner of the cell. He hurt all over and just longed for peace and tranquility. He perceived that his mate hated him and he knew Megatron was just using him. He remained in the corner unless the developing sparklings demanded that he move a bit for some reason. Soundwave made sure only certain bots watched over the illusionist, even as the cons tried to figure out which program it was that mirage had that allowed the bot to do such a wonderful trick.

Unknown to the Autobots, Spike and a friend had rented a submersible craft and were close to the con base. Fortunately, because it had no markings on it, the cons ignored it. They had seen unmanned drones down there before and knew that the base was hidden enough that the drone wouldn't catch anything of importance, or so they thought.

Spike put on a scuba suit and ejected from the craft and swam toward the Con base. He knew he wouldn't be much help in helping Mirage escape, but he could at least help guide the Autobots if he could just get inside the deep sea base. Spike swam silently under the cover of a whale that had suddenly swam in the direction that Spike was headed. It was the perfect cover for the small human. He soon made his way to the base undetected.

Thankfully, the base of the Cons didn't have water flooding it, so Spike was able to take his scuba gear off. Spike often hid in the tunnels that led between the grates in the base, which actually was the ventilation system for the base. And after only a few minutes of searching he found the brig area where Mirage was. Mirage looked awful.

The problems were multiple. Spike couldn't comm anybody and risk being found. He also had to be careful that his presence wouldn't cause the Cons to destroy Mirage and him as the Cons had little to no tolerance for the humans that inhabited this stupid planet called earth. He also didn't know how to get to Mirage without being spotted. It left the young human in quite a quandary.

Unknown to spike, Mirage sensed the human and carefully projected an illusion so that Spike could come down without being seen. Mirage wasn't mad at humans and he would still fiercely protect them from the cons, even if he wasn't in the best of shape. Spike made his way down to Mirage and mirage took spike into a subspace chamber than would keep enough oxygen in it so that Spike was kept safe, comfortable and alive.

Spike wanted to talk to Mirage so bad, but didn't know how. Mirage solved that problem. He made an small Mirage of himself, well himself made to look human, and it appeared in the subspace. "I understand you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, Mirage. Why did you run away?" Spike asked.

"I am not sure I should tell you…I don't know if you would understand…."

"Please, Mirage, talk to me."

The human illusion sighed. "I know you know of Prowl and Jazz's bond, right?" Mirage asked and Spike nodded. "Well, Optimus and I bonded the other night….only it was more than a bond."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how the females of your species can carry offspring?' mirage asked.

"Yes…but you're a mech.."

"Yes, but femmes are so rare that I am a rare mech that can carry offspring. I carry Optimus' twin offspring in my sparkling development chamber…"

Spike's eyes went wide and it took him several minutes to get over the shock of what he had just learned. Then it hit him. He knew pregnant human women could be moody and wondered if that was why Mirage had wandered off or if it was something else entirely. "So what made you leave the safety of the Autobot base?"

Mirage sighed and told exactly what had happened and how Optimus had been an aft to Mirage when Mirage needed Optimus' support the most. Needless to say, Spike now understood all of what was going on. Mirage also told what happened with Prowl and how that hadn't helped. Spike hugged the human illusion. "Why are you being so nice to me? Doesn't everyone hate me for being nothing but trouble?" Mirage queried.

"Because I want you and those little ones to survive, and no, no one hates you. The Autobots are furious at Optimus for what he did to you and they are coming to save you, including him. He feels like an aft for what he did to you" Spike tried reassuring Mirage, who was still standoffish.

"Should I really trust Optimus again? He hurt me so bad…" Mirage asked, tears in his eyes.

"I have learned, Mirage, that while harder to give, forgiveness of other's wrongs is easier than holding onto grudges which tend to destroy one from the inside out" Spike said. Mirage listened and carefully pulsed love over the bond, hoping to Primus that Spike was right, because if not, Mirage was in for a world of pain, suffering, and misery.


	8. Chapter 8

(Please see previous disclaimer. Mike is my creation)

As the Autobots moved closer to their target, Optiums felt the timid pulses from his mate. The pulse felt like curious love, wondering if they would be accepted. Optimus embraced these soft pulses and tried pulsing love back as well as Begging for forgiveness. Optimus could only hope that his mate would forgive him.

Mirage, inside the Con brig felt the returned pulses. And this time, instead of indignant anger and annoyance, Mirage felt love, sorrow, grief, and a longing to be forgiven. Mirage was caught off guard by these pulses. He wasn't sure if he should take them at face value. And so he accepted them, but pulsed back love as well as his own hurt and pain. He wanted his lugnut of a mate to understand how hurt Mirage was from what had happened.

Optimus wasn't prepared for the bombardment of feelings that Mirage had sent and it almost stopped the leader cold in his tracks. If it weren't for the strength of the Matrix, Optiums would have stopped and broke down. Ratchet noticed the change and privately commed Optimus as they approached.

"Prime, you have to keep it together, even if Mirage is pulsing things you don't want to hear."

"I am focused, byt frag it all, I didn't expect it to be this bad."

"What did you expect from him as when he needed your support the most, you threw him aside?" Ratchet said, to which Optimus ended the private comm. They needed to keep focused.

Neither had any idea Spike was there until they got a strange comm from Spike's friend. "Mike to Optimus, come in Optimus…"

"Optimus here, go ahead, Mike" Optimus said on a secure comm.

"Spike and I found the Con base and Spike swam for it. Sir, he left four hours ago and I haven't heard hide nor hair of him since. I fear he is captured by the cons as well."

Optimus sighed. "Alright, send us your coordinates. We may have to change our plans if this is so…" Mike sent the coordinates. Optimus didn't like it, but he knew what Mike had reported was true. Mirage and Spike were now trapped by those no good Cons. Optimus commed Smokescreen and Hound. They would have to change tactics now. The bots acknowledged and soon the plans were alternated. All Optimus hoped was that all would come out of this alive, especially Mirage.

Meanwhile, Soundwave realized that something was different and found that Mirage had a friend with him. Wave relayed the information to Megatron who was livid. This meant nothing but trouble. "Cons, move out…the Autobots are coming…"

Mirage heard the warning and unknowingly pulsed the information to his mate. Mirage had no idea that this new information made his mate more determined to rescue him.

Optimus received the information and dispersed it to the bots he had with him. They quicklt reconfigured and called for back up, as this was going to be a huge battle. Seaspray was called form base as he would be best underwater. They just hoped that they would save Mirage and Spike soon.


	9. Chapter 9

(See previous disclaimer)

Optimus and the Autobots rolled up together to a certain point before separating. Each group had a key role to play. Smokescreen and Hound were in the first group while Optimus and Ratchet were located in the second group. Seaspray had cautiously made his way to the site under the water and mostly undetected.

But as the first group of Autobots reached the appointed destination, they found themselves under heavy fire from seekers, with Starscream leading the way. And it wasn't only the seekers who were blasting away, but the coneheads as well as several grounders, including the Insecticons. While this barrage was heavier than anticipated, it wasn't unanticipated, and so the first group of Autobots split and Optimus commed the Aerial bots to come and help out in the battle.

Silverbolt and the others flew out of the Autobot base and raced to the seen. They knew that their services were needed to help out. Optimus sent the coordinates and soon the aerial bots arrived and diverted the attention of the seekers and coneheads. That left a good portion of the first group of Autobots to deal with the Con grounders. There were enough that Hound and Smokescreen could scurry off unseen and implement the plan they had intended.

Optimus and his group came up from the rear and while Sideswipe and Sunstreaker joined the fighting, Optimus and Ratchet went to meet Hound, Smokescreen and Seaspray. No one realized that two of the most dangerous cons – Soundwave and Megatron – had stayed on board the ship to guard the prized Mirage.

Seaspray had found Mike and his craft and brought them to the surface so that Mike could ride down inside a bot instead of the cumbersome submersible. Mike appreciated it. Once mike was safely aboard Seaspary, the boat bot led the others down to where the con base was. It looked deserted, though they figured the cons would never leave it completely abandoned.

And they were right as torpedoes came shooting out toward the small group. Smokescreen did his job of providing a smoke screen and Hound altered things so that the small group couldn't be seen, at least until they boarded the Con base. Megatron was furious but he bided his time, as he knew Optimus would come crawling to him.

Meanwhile, in the brig, Mirage sensed something. He knew Optimus was close by, as he could feel it. He still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but he trusted that Spike had been right in the fact that the Autobots were on their way to save the illusionist. Mirage remained curled up in a ball protecting his abdomen as he waited for whatever his fate was going to be.

Soon, Optimus and his small group boarded the Con base, with the exception of Seaspary who remained on guard outside with Mike inside him. They were instantly attacked by Megatron, who knocked out Smokescreen and Hound, revealing all four. And before Optimus could attack, Ratchet was knocked out as well.

"Now is it just you and I prime, just like I envisioned it" megatron said.

"Where is Mirage, you foul bot?"

"Oh you mean that lousy fool Autobot who you drove off and into my clutches?" Megatron sneered menacingly.

Optimus swore silently. "If you have harmed him…"

"You'll what you old fool. I know he carries sparklings and I know they are yours. I also know if I kill you he dies. But I also know if I keep you both alive and servants to me, he will be a great breeder for the cons…" Megatron said making Optimus sick and angry.

"he is not yours to have and neither am I, you destroyer" Optimus said back.

"I am tired of words, lets fight" Megatron said and struck Optimus first with a blast from a gun. Optimus noticed the flesh wound and began to fight back. Optimus fired off a laser blast and hit Megatron in the face and then in the groin, causing Megatron to cringe. Megatron didn't stay like that for long and attacked Optimus, drawing more energon from the Autobot leader.

The two were so focused on each other than neither saw Ratchet and Hound recover. They knew what Optimus would want them to do and so they left to find where Mirage was being kept. But as they arrived, they felt a strong psychological blast against their processors. They then knew who was guarding Mirage and Spike – Soundwave. Hound decided that it would take both of them to stay one step ahead of the boom box telepath. They would have to overwhelm him with thoughts and cause psychological warfare.

Hound thought of things that had nothing to do with the war. He thought of times on Cybertron, his parents, going to the academy, anything but the objective. Ratchet thought of all kinds of disgusting medical procedures and made sure that these thoughts were first and foremost in his processor. Soundwave was surprised by the psychological "noise" he was getting from these two and as he tried to delve deeper into either, he was hit by another thought he didn't want to know.

The pair kept it up until they cause the telepath to temporarily crash from information overload. It was only then that they could take a look and Mirage. Neither liked what they saw, as Mirage was curled up in the corner, obviously having taken abuse while being locked up. It was also obvious that mirage had been forcibly taken.

It was only once Mirage realized that he was being picked up that he onlined his optics. He saw Hound and ratchet. Finally realizing he was safe, Mirage crashed in Ratchet's arms. Ratchet needed to get back to the Autobot base on the double. Ratchet and hound took off with Seaspray and Smokescreen just before Optimus left, wounding Megatron severely for what the bot had done to Mirage. Optimus only hoped that Mirage and the unsparked sparklings were safe.

Once they reached land the cons had stopped fight and the Autobots rejoined each other to head back to base. None of the others liked how Mirage looked, but they could see Optimus looked even more concerned and hurt by all that had happened and so they left him alone.

Once safely back at base, Mirage was taken to the med bed and energon drips were hung. "He's struggling, Optimus. Part of him wants to live, part of him doesn't. You're going to have to convince him to stay…if you want any of you to survive" ratchet said. Optimus sighed. His only hope was to convince Mirage that Optimus still loved the illusionist and the developing sparklings. But the question was, could he do it? Could he convince Mirage that Optimus loved him and still wanted him?


	10. Chapter 10

(See previous disclaimer.)

Mirage lay in the med bay in stasis lock, his systems so frazzled and severely damaged from all that had happened to him, including the multiple times he was forcibly taken by Megatron, and being a sparkling carrier hadn't helped at all. Dents, dings, and scars showed that Mirage had suffered greatly while in Con custody, though none of it was on the abdominal area. Optimus realized that even though cold sparked, even Megatron recognized the preciousness of sparklings and the possibilities of a rare carrier mech.

Optimus blamed himself for the whole situation, as there was no one else to blame. He had been a royal aft and Mirage had truly suffered for it. Optimus owned up to his mistake and was just glad that one of the consequences he didn't suffer was going offline to follow his mate. But that wasn't much consolation as Mirage was still weak as was made obvious by the energon drips flowing into Mirage's systems to keep Mirage and the sparklings energized and online.

Spike, once informed by Mirage about what was going on, talked with Optimus. Optimus was a bit surprised the human didn't act as angry as the other bots had. "I've had girlfriends, Optimus. I have pissed them off by being a jerk to them, and they dumped me right on the spot. I learned the hard way that being a jerk to the one you profess to love will only serve to come and bite one in the ass, or in your case, aft, one day."

Optimus listened, as this young human was wiser than many gave him credit for. "I just wish I had known he was so touchy and sensitive to my responses…"

"Optimus, even you can't know everything, even with the Matrix guiding you. Besides, if he is pregnant like the female of our species, his chances of being more sensitive and reactionary to the slightest thing increases" Spike said. Optimus felt a bit better but he still worried about what was going to happen to Mirage and the little ones. "Optimus, he needs you, but he fears you will reject him again."

Optimus looked down at Spike. "How do you know all of this?"

"He told me as we talked while we were being held prisoner by the cons. He just wants to feel love and accepted by you."

Optimus nodded. "I will do my best to earn his love and trust back, and I guess the first step is to apologize."

"Optimus, you can't just tell him, as words mean little without matching actions. As we humans say, actions speak far louder than mere words." Optimus nodded again and thanked Spike for his support. Spike soon left, and left Optimus with a lot to think about.

"Humans are much wiser than we give them credit for" Ratchet said coming over to check on Mirage and after hearing the conversation. Optimus could only nod as he desperately wanted his mate back. "You know Optimus, even though he is out of it and in stasis lock, he can still hear you and feel your presence. Talk to him, remind him of the bot you can be, show him love. It might help him recover faster."

Optimus looked at the medic. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, he's in stasis lock, not dead" Ratchet said softly, giving Optimus an unexpected opportunity to make good his promise.

Optimus nodded and once Ratchet left the two in private, Optimus began to pour his pained spark out to his comatose mate. He talked about all the memories he had of them meeting and how they always seemed to bump into each other at the strangest places, as if Primus knew they were destined to be together. He talked about how surprised he had been to learn of Mirage being a carrier of sparklings, specifically his and how he longed to be the best mate and father to the precious little one or ones to come. He told how sorry he was and took sole responsibility for the aft he had been and how he felt he didn't deserve Mirage after that. Optimus went on and on for twenty minutes more or so. Little changed physically, but Optimus was not willing to give up, especially not with sparklings in the balance.

Mirage, though trapped deep in a dark scary place, heard the voice breaking through. Mirage listened. The sounds were soft and muddled at first but then grew clear the longer the voice continued. Mirage heard his mate pour his spark out. Mirage heard about how Optimus had been surprised to learn of the sparklings and how much of a royal aft Optimus had felt like once he learned what he had done. Mirage heard the sparkfelt apology and felt the love being pulsed. He was still scared and worried, but timidly pulsed back, hoping not to feel rejection.

Optimus was a bit surprised to feel love being returned, but he was careful and made sure to only pulse love and acceptance back to the comatose bot. "Please, please" begged Optimus needily, "I can't go on living without you, my love, my mate. Please come back to me. I love you so much."

Mirage was moved by the pleads, but right now he was too weak to snap out of his stasis lock. He just hoped that Optimus wasn't putting on a show, because of that was the case, Mirage would end it all. Mirage was in a precarious position and it would be up to Optimus now to see if all survive or none survived to see another day.


	11. Chapter 11

(See previous disclaimers)

Several days passed before Mirage truly was able to come back online from the stasis lock he had been in. He was still wary, still cautious, and still extremely afraid of his mate Optimus. Sometimes just hearing his mate's name caused him to shiver. Ratchet didn't like this reaction, as it was bad for Mirage and bad for the sparklings growing inside. Mirage was still very timid and had a hard time trusting.

Ratchet carefully approached. "Mirage, talk to me."

"About what?" Mirage asked, not wanting to go into what happened at the Con base nor what was going through his mind in regards to the bond or not sure if he wanted to remain online.

"Just talk, I am here to listen" Ratchet said, hoping he could get Mirage to open up.

"I…I just don't know…." Mirage started, " If….if I can trust him again…"

"Trust who? Optimus?" Ratchet asked to which Mirage nodded. "Optimus feels like a complete and under aft for what he did. He's told me many times."

"Doesn't act like it…" Mirage said, still feeling hurt and angry at Optimus for what had happened.

"Mirage, Optimus has been in here daily, wanting an update on you and the babies, wanting to make sure you are ok and wanting to know when he can take you home. He also is the one who helped rescue you from Megatron. He is trying to do the best he can. Holding onto a grudge won't help you get back to being close to him…"

Mirage sighed. He felt like all the pressure was on him now. "And if I decide that I don't want this anymore…?"

"then we lose not only you and the babies, but our Prime…as Optimus would go with you in death"

That shocked Mirage. "You mean, if I go, he goes?" Mirage asked to which Ratchet nodded. Mirage hadn't realized that. He didn't know much about bonds and emotions attached to them. "Ratchet…could….could you tell me more about what being a bonded pair means?" Mirage asked, his youth shining through.

Ratchet nodded. "Well, bonded bots…" Ratchet went on to explain about what a bond means, how it works, and why bots often went together. He also told of how in rare cases of two mechs, sparklings were created if one was a rare carrier. He told all he knew and explained it in a way that Mirage would understand. Mirage listened, as he wanted to be a good mate to Optimus. Well, if Optimus gave him another chance. Ratchet could see that he was getting through to Mirage, but that still didn't mean Mirage would be ready to trust Optimus completely again yet.

"I want a relationship with him, I want his babies, our babies. I just don't want to feel like every time I need something, I will be a burden to him. Because when I needed his support, he sent his anger at me" Mirage said softly, tears in his optics.

"Rest, Mirage" Ratchet said and Mirage closed his optics to rest. He was still recovering and the unsparked twin sparklings took much out of him.

Once Mirage was asleep, Ratchet moved to a quiet spot in the med bay to comm Optimus. "Ratchet to Optimus..come in Optimus."

"Optimus here, go ahead ratchet" Optimus said trying not to react with anger as he was distracted from reading important data pads regarding con activity in the area. He had learned the hard way not to snap at any bot who commed him until after he learned if this was an important comm or not. If it wasn't important, Optimus would be stern with the bot, but if it was important, Optimus would listen to what the bot had to say before making a decision regarding the comm.

"Mirage woke today and spoke with me…" ratchet said and told what they had spoke of. Optimus was pleased to hear that Ratchet had talked about how important bonds were in bonded bots, but Optimus wasn't pleased to hear that Mirage had thought of off lining himself and that Mirage was still afraid of the Prime.

"I guess I still have work ahead of me to prove to him that I really do love him and that I have learned to push aside my anger when commed."

"Yes, you do, but re-earning shattered trust takes time, Optimus. I will comm you later if there are any further updates."

"Thank you, Ratchet. I plan on stopping by the med bay later today. Optimus out." Ratchet ended the comm. And went back to working in the med bay.

And it wasn't too much longer before Optimus came by to see Mirage. Mirage was once again awake and he shook badly as Optimus approached him. Ratchet watched, as if Mirage's oil pressure got to high, Ratchet would have to do something medically so that the sparklings didn't suffer. But Ratchet watched as Optimus stopped before getting too close, even going down on one knee. "Mirage…I… I wanted to say that…I'm so sorry for what I did. You needed me and I failed you…" Optimus said.

Mirage's optics went wide. He wasn't sure if he should just let his mate have it or forgive him. He was still so hurt emotionally and physically. Mirage remained silent for now. He wanted to forgive, he wanted to go back, but something was keeping him from doing so, and it wasn't pride. He just prayed for guidance and hoped Primus would have the answer. Optimus was sad to see that Mirage still held back, but Optimus hoped that with time, Mirage would return to him.


	12. Chapter 12

(Please see previous disclaimer. Sparkling names are my and my friend's creations)

After several more days, Mirage was considered healthy enough that he was no longer required to be in the med bay, though Ratchet made sure that Mirage was aware that he was required to come by the med bay weekly for checkups, both sparkling and otherwise. Reluctantly, Mirage agreed. He hated the med bay but if weekly checkups could keep him out of it, he would put up with them for now.

The only thing was, Mirage still wasn't trusting Optimus completely yet, and it hurt Optimus enormously. Mirage wasn't even back to living in the Prime's quarters, even though they were mated. Optimus had made great strides in improving things, but Mirage needed more time before he was ready to admit that the shattered trust had been rebuilt in any sense of the word.

Optimus, hoping it would help, went back to earning the trust by doing the things he had done to earn Mirage's trust when they were courting. Optimus did things with Mirage and for Mirage and spoiled the bot with attention. Optimus also made sure to always answer any comms from Mirage no matter how insignificant or trivial it was. Optimus also welcomed Mirage with open arms when the illusionist came to the Prime's office for any reason.

Many bots saw that Optimus was trying hard, and they supported both Mirage and Optimus in reconciling. Prowl wasn't quite as helpful as he could have been, and Jazz often got on him for that, and eventually wingspan did as well. Prowl was just going to have to learn to accept Mirage for who he was and that Jazz had taken him in.

(Several months down the road.)

Sparkling cries could be heard from the med bay. Ratchet could be heard cursing and swearing at the unexpected nature of the delivery. Everyone who was near the med bay knew what had occurred, but an announcement soon came over the P.A.

"Fellow Autobots, this is Optimus Prime, and it is my privilege to let you know that Mirage, my sparkmate, has sparked two healthy and happy sparklings. Please welcome Peacekeeper and his twin Flasher to this world" Optimus said over the loud speakers. Many bots cheered, as it wasn't often new life came into the world for the Autobots.

In the med bay, Mirage was resting comfortably with the two large sparklings in his arms. He was happy. He had forgiven his mate a few months ago and moved back into the Prime's quarters. Optimus had earned his mate's trust and love back. And now that Optimus knew that Mirage was this sensitive, the Prime made his own adjustments in terms of how he handled things and did things.

Prowl and Jazz, who both came to visit the little ones in the med bay, had also reconciled and Prowl had come to tell Mirage that he was finally accepting of Mirage. "Mirage, I know I have been one of your biggest and harshest critics, but I wanted to let you know that I was being an arrogant aft, and I hope we can have a father-son type of relationship, if you agree or desire to" Prowl said, a bit concerned he had pushed Mirage too far away to salvage anything.

Mirage was a bit taken aback and surprised, as he hadn't expected that, but he also knew that Jazz had been working so hard on Prowl to get to this point. "Don't expect me to call you dad right away, but I am willing to give you a chance to get to know me" Mirage said.

"I accept that, and I will let you set the pace of our reconciliation" Prowl said with relief in his voice. Mirage nodded. Mirage now was extremely happy – he had his family of Prowl, Jazz, and Wingspan as well as his own family of Optimus, Peacekeeper and Flasher – and it showed. Mirage smiled and let out a small tear of pure joy.

"We all love you, my sweet mate" Optimus said, a smile on his face and a tear of joy in his optics.

"I know, my beloved. I can feel it. I feel your love, their love, and the love from the sparklings." Optimus smiled and pulled his little family close. True, the war was still going on, but these two little sparklings represented hope, hope that one day the war would end and the population could be returned to what it once had been. Optimus promised that come what may, he would protect his family and that glimmer of hope. Mirage snuggled into his mate. They both hoped that these two little ones were the start to the end of this infernal war, but only time would tell. For now, though, they would care for these precious sparklings from Primus that had brought such joy to all.


End file.
